Mike Summers - August 2016:
Flight frequency on Frontier has certainly changed, but I wanted watch a Brewers baseball game. Flying into Milwaukee I decided to use public transportation (bus). It worked out great. There are two options to get you from the airport to downtown. You can take the MCTS Route 80 bus ( Route 80 information: http://www.ridemcts.com/routes-schedules/routes/80#Weekday ) or the MCTS Green Line bus ( Green Line information: http://www.ridemcts.com/Routes-Schedules/Routes/GreenLine/#Weekday ). I chose the Green Line bus. Just follow the signs for transportation from the gate to the baggage claim area. You'll walk outside from Baggage Claim #1 to the first island. The fare is $2.25 (exact change). Sadly, they don't give you a transfer unless you purchase a MCTS Fare Card, which you can do at the Airport by baggage claim #1. The card costs $2.00. Then you can buy a one-day pass for an additional $4.00. That equals $6.00 for the day. You can also use one card to pay for more than one person, just let the driver know before touching your card to the fare box ( Fare Card information: http://www.ridemcts.com/fares-passes/mcts-m-card#_top ). For complete information on Routes and where you may want to go here's the MCTS website: http://www.ridemcts.com/routes-schedules/overview . For my trip to Miller Park, Home of the Brewers, it was an easy transfer from my Green Line bus to either the Route 23 bus or the Blue Line bus at National Ave. and S.2nd Street. Knowing that ballpark food can be expensive, I hopped off the Route 23 bus which was heading west along National Ave. at 16th Street. From there I walked two blocks to Oscar's on Pierce. They have a large beer selection, great hamburgers, and an outside patio/deck in the back ( Website: http://www.oscarsonpierce.com/ ). Needless to say, the choice was a good one. I had the "Big O" which I washed down with a couple of pints of "Spotted Cow" beer. When you're done, walk two blocks back to catch the bus and head toward Miller Park. The bus doesn't take you directly to the park. We got off at State Highway 341 and National Ave. From the stop, there is a bike/pedestrian path along the east side of Highway 341 that takes you to the park (about a 3/4 mile walk). Miller Park is outside the city more or less by itself (Website: http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/mil/ballpark/information/ ). There is a TGI Friday's located within the Park that opens about 1 1/2 hours before the game. Tailgating is also popular here. With the game winding down, just retrace your steps back to the intersection of Highway 341 and National Ave. There, you can catch the Route 23 bus, connect to the Green Line at National Ave. and S.1st Street. and return to the airport. If you want to grab a late snack, right next to the bus stop at S.2nd and National is Fat Daddy's. It's easy to spot with it's numerous volleyball courts and summer league night games (Website: http://www.fatdaddyball.com/ ). Good pizza and beer selection can be found here. Since the return flight was at 5:30 AM, there was no need to get a hotel room. Just sleep outside of security until it opens at 4:30 AM!
Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Summers - November 2011:
Because of the frequency of flights, Milwaukee is a nice overnight trip. You'll want to rent a car, but rental rates are usually pretty decent. At the airport, the rental garage is directly across from baggage claim (no rental bus to pick up). Downtown Milwaukee is north of the airport and has a number of sites that you can visit. I haven't visited all of these, but give a few a try! I'll list them along with websites that give you additional information.
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Milwaukee Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Milwaukee(Wisconsin)
Wisconsin Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Wisconsin
Wisconsin Dells Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Wisconsin_Dells
Mike Summers - August 2016:
Flight frequency on Frontier has certainly changed, but I wanted watch a Brewers baseball game. Flying into Milwaukee I decided to use public transportation (bus). It worked out great. There are two options to get you from the airport to downtown. You can take the MCTS Route 80 bus ( Route 80 information: http://www.ridemcts.com/routes-schedules/routes/80#Weekday ) or the MCTS Green Line bus ( Green Line information:
http://www.ridemcts.com/Routes-Schedules/Routes/GreenLine/#Weekday ). I chose the Green Line bus. Just follow the signs for transportation from the gate to the baggage claim area. You'll walk outside from Baggage Claim #1 to the first island. The fare is $2.25 (exact change). Sadly, they don't give you a transfer unless you purchase a MCTS Fare Card, which you can do at the Airport by baggage claim #1. The card costs $2.00. Then you can buy a one-day pass for an additional $4.00. That equals $6.00 for the day. You can also use one card to pay for more than one person, just let the driver know before touching your card to the fare box ( Fare Card information: http://www.ridemcts.com/fares-passes/mcts-m-card#_top ). For complete information on Routes and where you may want to go here's the MCTS website: http://www.ridemcts.com/routes-schedules/overview . For my trip to Miller Park, Home of the Brewers, it was an easy transfer from my Green Line bus to either the Route 23 bus or the Blue Line bus at National Ave. and S.2nd Street. Knowing that ballpark food can be expensive, I hopped off the Route 23 bus which was heading west along National Ave. at 16th Street. From there I walked two blocks to Oscar's on Pierce. They have a large beer selection, great hamburgers, and an outside patio/deck in the back ( Website: http://www.oscarsonpierce.com/ ). Needless to say, the choice was a good one. I had the "Big O" which I washed down with a couple of pints of "Spotted Cow" beer. When you're done, walk two blocks back to catch the bus and head toward Miller Park. The bus doesn't take you directly to the park. We got off at State Highway 341 and National Ave. From the stop, there is a bike/pedestrian path along the east side of Highway 341 that takes you to the park (about a 3/4 mile walk). Miller Park is outside the city more or less by itself (Website:
http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/mil/ballpark/information/ ). There is a TGI Friday's located within the Park that opens about 1 1/2 hours before the game. Tailgating is also popular here. With the game winding down, just retrace your steps back to the intersection of Highway 341 and National Ave. There, you can catch the Route 23 bus, connect to the Green Line at National Ave. and S.1st Street. and return to the airport. If you want to grab a late snack, right next to the bus stop at S.2nd and National is Fat Daddy's. It's easy to spot with it's numerous volleyball courts and summer league night games (Website: http://www.fatdaddyball.com/ ). Good pizza and beer selection can be found here. Since the return flight was at 5:30 AM, there was no need to get a hotel room. Just sleep outside of security until it opens at 4:30 AM!
Enjoy!
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Mike Summers - November 2011:
Because of the frequency of flights, Milwaukee is a nice overnight trip. You'll want to rent a car, but rental rates are usually pretty decent. At the airport, the rental garage is directly across from baggage claim (no rental bus to pick up). Downtown Milwaukee is north of the airport and has a number of sites that you can visit. I haven't visited all of these, but give a few a try! I'll list them along with websites that give you additional information.
- Harley-Davidson Museum, Inc: http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HD_Museum/visit_the_museum.jsp?locale=en_US and
- Potawatami Bingo Casino: http://www.paysbig.com/ and http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=5946
- Sea Dog Sailing (on Lake Michigan): http://www.seadogsailingmilwaukee.com/ and http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=21694
- Brady Street: http://bradystreet.org/ and http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=5976
- Milwaukee Public Market: http://www.milwaukeepublicmarket.org/index.php and http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=26117
- Historic Third Ward: http://www.historicthirdward.org/ and http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=7988
- Milwaukee Art Museum: http://www.mam.org/ and http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=7325
- Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery: http://www.bestplacemilwaukee.com/ and
http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=36984http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/member.php?mid=24397
Milwaukee also has many festivals that you may accidentally come across during different times of the year. Here's a few of them:
You Tube Video of nine best bars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3viOR3k87g
There's a lot of good places to eat in and near downtown:
Milwaukee has a lot of sights. Take a quick day trip and visit a couple of the above places! Enjoy!
Mike Summers - December 2014:
So, flights were wide open, and I talked my wife into a trip to Milwaukee in December! It doesn't sound like a formula for success, but strange things happen! My wife and I had an enjoyable trip to the upper Midwest. There is public transportation from the airport to the city (Website:
http://www.ridemcts.com/ ), by way of the Greenline bus (Route Website: http://www.ridemcts.com/routes-schedules/routes/GreenLine#Weekday ), which leaves the airport about every 13 minutes and gets you downtown to Water and Wisconsin Streets. Fare (Fare Website:
http://www.ridemcts.com/fares-passes/ticket-and-fare-prices ) is $2.25 per ride or an all-day pass is $5.00 when purchased on the bus (cash only). If you rent a car, the rental car counters are across from the terminal in the parking garage -- no shuttle buses! As always, we focus on beer and brew pubs during our trips together. Milwaukee has 3 nice brew pubs. The Horny Goat Brewery (Website: http://www.hornygoatbrewing.com/wordpress/ ) at 2011 South First Street is about halfway between the airport and downtown Milwaukee. From I-94 toward Milwaukee from the airport, take exit 312A, head east on E. Lincoln Ave., then north on First Street. They have a nice Belgian Wheat that pairs nicely with Butternut Squash Baby Bread. Before I mention the other two pubs, I just want to say that Milwaukee has a large number of Irish Pubs, We went to Mo's Irish Pub (Website: http://mosirishpub.com/milwaukee/index.html ) for one reason -- my wife's love of New Glarus Brewing Spotted Cow beer (Website:
http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/ourbeers/beer/spotted-cow ), which Mo's serves. Mo's is right in the middle of downtown just a block form the river walk at 142 W. Wisconsin Avenue. Other Irish Pubs are 1) the Harp (Website: http://theharpirishpub.com/ ) with a great deck that overlooks the Milwaukee River that flows through downtown; 2) the Black Rose (Website: http://blackrosemilwaukee.com/ ); and Trinity (Website:
http://trinitythreeirishpubs.com/ ). The second Brewery worth visiting which is in downtown Milwaukee is the Milwaukee Brewing Company (Website:
http://mkebrewing.com/ ) and their Outboard brand beer. They have tours on Friday and Saturday, and an open house on Saturday evening. The tours are $10, and you get a pint glass to keep and a token to redeem for a free beer at one of the nearby bars. The open house is $15. You get the pint glass and token as well, along with 2 hours of unlimited beer sampling. Check the website for tour information. The third Brewery is the Water Street Brewing Company (Website: http://waterstreetbrewery.com/index.php/locations/downtown ), which has a nice Bavarian Weiss that goes great with the hot pretzel basket. Downtown Milwaukee is an easy city to walk through. The Milwaukee River Riverwalk (Websites:
http://www.visitmilwaukee.org/riverwak and http://milwaukee.about.com/od/artsentertainment/a/Milwaukee-Riverwalk.htm and
http://www.mkedcd.org/DowntownMilwaukee/RiverWalk/index.html ) is a nice 3-4 mile trail through the middle of the city with numerous shops, bars, and seating areas to visit. Near the Riverwalk is Old World Third Street, which is a three block stretch of interesting German restaurants and bars (Websites: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60097-d527359-Reviews-Old_World_3rd_St-Milwaukee_Wisconsin.html and
http://milwaukee.wisconsin.com/attraction_details.html?detailsListingId=ATTRACTIONS_aef1f1bb43dcbc1598ab5e4b0127fbd3 ). I'd be remiss not to mention a couple of "institutions" along Old World Third Street in Milwaukee. The BEST German restaurant is Mader's (Website:
http://www.madersrestaurant.com/home.html ), which has been visited by US Presidents. Usinger's Famous Sausage (Website:
http://www.usinger.com/visit-our-store ) is a one of a kind, nationally recognized family business devoted to the craft of sausage making. The Wisconsin Cheese Mart (Website: https://www.wisconsincheesemart.com/uber-tap-room/ ) and its accompanying Uber Tap Room brings the art of pairing Wisconsin Cheese with Wisconsin beer to whole new level. Cheese and beer lovers can pair 175 Wisconsin cheeses with 36 different beers that are on tap. Also on Old World Third Street is the Milwaukee Brat House (Website: http://www.milwaukeebrathouse.com/ ) with a free shuttle to all Brewers home games. It has a great sausage menu along with other basics. You can also tour the Miller Brewery (Website:
http://www.millercoors.com/AgeVerification.aspx ), visit the Harley Davidson Museum (Website:
http://www.harley-davidson.com/content/h-d/en_US/home/museum.html ), check out the Museum of Beer and Brewing (Website:
http://www.brewingmuseum.org/Welcome-to-the-Museum-of-Beer-and-Brewing ), and tour the Milwaukee Art Museum (Website: http://mam.org/ ). Other possible sites are included in this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60097-Activities-Milwaukee_Wisconsin.html . As it turned out Milwaukee is a clean, nice Midwest city to visit as a day trip or an overnight trip.
Enjoy!